


bad girls

by airnomadenthusiast



Series: the donnaverse [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/F, Gen, Mutual Pining, Trans Mai, and by background i mean BACKGROUND, background yueki, i respect y'all so much, slight transphobia mentions, sorry fellow yueki shippers, very very very slight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26060464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/airnomadenthusiast/pseuds/airnomadenthusiast
Summary: And that was the thing. This was girlfriend behavior. Cuddling and laughing and staring into each other’s eyes and memorizing each other’s coffee orders and holding hands when they crossed the street because Mai was afraid of jaywalking and Ty Lee wasn’t afraid of anything—girlfriends did that. But they’d always done that. Even when Mai was with Zuko, they’d acted like that. Girlfriends did that, but maybe girls who were friends did that too. And if Mai wanted Ty Lee to be her girlfriend and not her friend who was a girl… well, Ty Lee could never know that, could she?Or, Mai and her friends start a band.
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), The Avatar Girls
Series: the donnaverse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1891846
Comments: 20
Kudos: 76





	bad girls

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like a taste of the girls' influences/what their music might sound like [ I made a playlist ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1BeMi3uNPR7zcVV1JlIf9J?si=fbkcUAk1SDGZbOWh04GNIg) (don't listen to the whole thing it's six hours) Also note that one of the songs mentioned in the fic, "The Long Way Around" by the Chicks, has an anti-Romani slur (the slur's not in the fic of course but if you choose to listen to the playlist or just look up that song you might run across it). 
> 
> Also please note that I know nothing about the actual production of music or how bands get formed and this is basically a gayer, slightly more realistic version of Lemonade Mouth. 
> 
> EDIT: so while I'm really proud of this story in some ways, after writing it, with help from Asian and Indigenous folks on tumblr, I realized I fell into a lot of the Americanizing, whitewashing tropes that a lot of atla modern aus fall into, and for that I apologize. [ this post ](https://harutheestallion.tumblr.com/post/638241395122044929) made me realize what I had done, and [ this post ](https://harutheestallion.tumblr.com/post/638088851527729152/naming-references-water-tribe-characters) [ this post ](https://harutheestallion.tumblr.com/post/636542334100717568/i-ask-these-questions-with-utmost-sincerity-and) and another post that I can't find right now about writing immigrant characters from @gothicmai on tumblr helped me in editing this so it could be better. Again, I apologize that this was ever written like that in the first place, and I will think more critically about how I write modern atla aus in the future. If you enjoyed this piece before rewrites, I promise you will enjoy it just as much, if not more, now. 
> 
> Much thanks to @GildedFlowers for betaing. Enjoy!

That weekend, the girls piled into Suki’s big green van (“It’s blue!” Katara insisted). Girls’ night happened to coincide with Yue’s birthday, and she decided she wanted to go to a karaoke club. Mai wasn’t happy about it. She liked singing—but she did it alone, in the shower, where no one could hear her. 

But Ty Lee was there, with her sparkly pink eyeshadow and her lip gloss and her long, perfect braid, and all of Mai’s discomfort melted away. 

Suki drove, because apparently nobody could be trusted with the old girl except for her. Azula was in the passenger seat, as she always was (“I get carsick!”). Yue and Katara were in the middle row, chatting about how difficult their final exams were. Mai snuggled against Ty Lee in the back. As her best friend, she had a right to do that. Right? 

“Hi,” Ty Lee said softly into Mai’s hair. “You excited?” 

Mai held onto Ty Lee’s arm. “I hate karaoke.” 

Ty Lee giggled. “You hate everything.” 

“I do not.” 

“Oh really? Name one thing you don’t hate.”

Mai looked up at Ty Lee. She was glowing. She always was. 

“I don’t hate you.” 

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t count, Mai. We’ve been best friends since we were five.”

Mai just gripped Ty Lee’s arm tighter. Ty Lee sighed and started drawing circles into Mai’s back. 

And that was the thing. This was girlfriend behavior. Cuddling and laughing and staring into each other’s eyes and memorizing each other’s coffee orders and holding hands when they crossed the street because Mai was afraid of jaywalking and Ty Lee wasn’t afraid of _anything_ —girlfriends did that. But they’d always done that. Even when Mai was with Zuko, they’d acted like that. Girlfriends did that, but maybe girls who were friends did that too. And if Mai wanted Ty Lee to be her girlfriend and not her friend who was a girl… well, Ty Lee could never know that, could she? 

“We’re here!” 

Mai rolled her eyes and reluctantly pried herself off of Ty Lee. _This is for Yue, this is for Yue, this is for Yue_. 

When she got out of the car, Yue smiled at her. “Look at us sheltered girls, finally getting out. Isn’t this great?”

“Oh, yeah, because the best way to rebel against your strict parents is to go to a karaoke club,” Mai said, but she linked arms with Yue all the same. Because for Yue, it was. Her dad was a classical musician and a control freak, and he and Yue had butted heads so many times over Yue’s obsessions with the Jerry Cans and Tanya Taguq, and especially over her foray into disco with a Donna Sumer CD she’d shoplifted from a record store in Anchorage in 2007. She’d played that CD for their friend group a million times, and even though Mai was more into punk than disco (seriously, who likes disco nowadays?), Yue’s love for Donna was infectious. 

“Hurry up, you two!” Suki yelled. Yue broke into a run, laughing, and Mai started running with her. They entered the club, a mess of roving colored lights and bodies jiving to the Backstreet Boys. 

“Ooh, I want to do that one!” Katara yelled. 

Azula rolled her eyes. “Katara, if you make me sing ‘I Want It That Way’, I might never forgive you.” 

Katara scoffed. “Fine. I wasn’t going to sing it with you anyway.”

“Fine!”

“Fine!” 

“Girls, girls, settle down,” Ty Lee said. “I got us all drinks!” She started handing out pina coladas and Long Island iced teas and mango juice for her and Mai, because Mai hadn’t drunk alcohol since high school and was better off for it. Azula rolled her eyes, but then Mai got her to try some of the mango juice, and Azula ended up getting one of her own. 

Katara really did sing “I Want It That Way” to massive applause from the crowd. Suki sang Avril Lavigne, which made Mai cringe a little bit, remembering the matching green streaks in their hair in high school, but the crowd loved it. After Azula had gotten sufficiently drunk, she sang “Shake It Off” with Ty Lee, despite the fact that sober Azula regularly referred to Taylor Swift as “absolute nonsense.”Mai didn’t miss the elation written all over Ty Lee’s face. Of course Azula was her type. Azula was everyone’s type. Mai just had to suck it up and move on. 

Yue stayed in the booth with Mai for most of the night, and they had fun, yelling over the crowd about how much they fucking _hated_ all these white gay movies and strategizing over what color Yue should dye her hair next, but after a while, Mai could tell that Yue wanted something else. “Yue,” she yelled over the guy singing Bruno Mars (ugh), “you should sing.” 

“What?” 

“You should sing!” Gosh, she hated loud places, she hated them so much. 

Yue blushed. “I can’t. I’m a pianist, not a singer.” 

Mai squeezed her shoulder. “You can be both, you know.” 

Yue looked down. “What if I’m not good at it?” 

One of these days, Mai was going to practice her knife throwing on Yue’s asshole dad’s perfect little face, and she was going to have a good time doing it too. “Yue, look around. Everybody’s bad at it. The important thing is that you have fun. It is your birthday, after all.” 

Yue’s eyes gleamed. “All right, then. On one condition. You go up too.” 

Mai’s blood ran cold. “Absolutely not.”

“What’s this? You’re going up?” Azula asked, sliding into the booth beside her. Mai shook her head. 

“I was just trying to convince Yue,” she said. 

“Oh come on, you’re such a buzzkill. You should get up there! It’s fun!” 

“What’s up?” Katara said, downing a glass of water. 

“Mai and Yue are going to sing,” Azula said. 

“No, _Yue’s_ going to sing,” Mai repeated. 

“Oh! Oh! Idea!” Suki exclaimed. She took a swig of mango juice, her eyes glinting in such a way that Mai knew she was going to hate whatever she said. “We should _all_ sing one with Yue!” 

“Oh my gosh, yes!” Ty Lee said, and in that moment, Mai knew she was doomed. “Come on, Mai, please? It’ll be so much fun!” 

Mai’s throat was thick. “What—what would we even sing?” 

Suki laughed. “Donna, of course. What kind of question is that?” She looked at Yue with such fondness Mai had to look away. “Right, Yue?” 

Yue’s face broke into a wide grin. “Bad Girls. Let’s sing Bad Girls.” 

“Oh, I love that song!” Ty Lee exclaimed. 

“We all love that song, Ty Lee, that’s the whole point,” Azula said. 

“I think it’s a great idea,” Katara said. “Mai, don’t you think so?” 

Mai could feel everybody’s eyes on her, and she swallowed. “I—I don’t sing.” 

Yue looked at her. “Are you scared?” 

“I’m not scared, don’t be ridiculous,” Mai said a little too quickly. Her heart was pounding in her throat. “I just… don’t like it.”

Yue gave Mai a quick one armed hug. “You don’t have to do it with us if you don’t want to. But remember, everybody’s bad at it. It’s all about having a good time.” 

_Oh, look, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions._

And of course, her body betrayed her, and she looked up at Ty Lee’s big, beautiful brown eyes, her puppy dog pout. There was absolutely nothing Mai could refuse her when she looked like that. 

“Please, Mai?”

Mai looked around at the rest of the group, and, with a heavy sigh, said, “Ugh, fine, let’s do it.” 

And then, they were onstage, in front of all of those people, and Mai had never been more terrified of anything in her life. 

“I can’t do this,” she mumbled under her breath, thinking no one would hear her. But of course, Ty Lee did. She reached out for Mai’s hand and held it, rubbing it with her thumb gently. 

“You can, Mai. You can do anything.”

The music started up, and Ty Lee quickly released Mai’s hand. Mai took in a shaky breath as the piano chords and the trumpets started up. She could hear Yue, Suki, Katara, and Azula behind her. 

“ _Toot toot, hey, beep beep! Toot toot, hey, beep beep!_ ” 

And Mai started to sing. 

“ _Bad girls,_ ” she sang. She looked over at Ty Lee. “ _Talkin’ bout the sad girls_.” 

“ _Sad girls_ ,” Yue joined in, her voice high and lovely. They harmonized. “ _Talkin’ bout bad girls, yeah._ ”

“ _See them out on the street at night_ ,” Suki sang. 

Katara and Azula: “ _Walkin’”_

“ _Picking up all kind of strangers—_ ”

“ _If the price is right._ ”

“ _You can score, if your pocket’s nice._ ” And then, all of them together. “ _But you want a good time._ ” 

Ty Lee grinned for the pre-chorus. “ _You ask yourself/Who they are/Like everybody else/They come from near and far._ ”

Mai had heard Ty Lee sing hundreds, thousands of times. She was part of all the choirs, glee clubs, acapella groups, _everything_ , when they were growing up. And of course, Mai attended every last one of her performances. But no matter how many times Mai heard Ty Lee sing, her voice never failed to make Mai positively melt inside. 

The crowd was going wild, Yue was grinning from ear to ear, Suki was dancing around, Katara was high fiving the guys in the front row. Even Azula seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself, and Azula never enjoyed herself. Mai allowed a small smile to appear on her face. Maybe she was enjoying herself too. 

They all harmonized together for the last chorus, and Mai was surprised at how easy it was. But she supposed it was to be expected. She’d known Ty Lee and Azula since they were children, when their fathers had become business partners and forced them together, Suki since middle school, and even though Yue and Katara were fairly recent additions to their group, she felt closer to them than she did to her actual family. She loved these girls. Even when they made her sing with them. 

When they finished the song, it was to soaring applause. Ty Lee immediately enveloped Mai into a hug. Katara tried to get them all into a group hug, but Suki positively refused to let go of Yue. They took a few bows before finally getting off stage, laughing. 

“See, wasn’t that fun?” Ty Lee asked her. 

“It was all right,” Mai said, but she knew Ty Lee could tell how she really felt. 

“It was better than fun,” Yue said, joy written all over her face. “Gosh, that was the best thing I’ve ever done!” 

Katara was grinning. “I would do that every day.” 

“Me too!” Suki said. 

“Would you really?” Mai turned around to see a small girl with hair in her face looking directly up at her. She had a white cane with her. 

“Um, who are you?” she asked. 

The girl stuck out a hand. “Name’s Toph. I manage bands, make people stars, you know, the usual.” 

“Stars?” Ty Lee jumped in front of Mai. “Really?” 

Toph nodded, smiling. “Absolutely. And you guys definitely have star power.” 

“Hold on,” Azula cut in. “How are you going to make us stars? You’re nothing more than a child.” 

“Azula, don’t be rude to the girl who wants to make us famous!” Ty Lee said through her teeth. Azula rolled her eyes. 

“What are your credentials, little girl?”

Toph set her jaw. “First of all, I’m not a little girl. I’m eighteen. Second of all—okay, technically, I don’t have any credentials, but—” 

“Well, that’s all we need to know then, isn’t it? Come on, girls.”

“Azula, be nice,” Katara said, a dangerous set to her mouth. She turned to Toph. “Look, it’s really nice of you to offer to manage us, but we’re not even a band. We just wanted to do something fun for our friend’s birthday, that’s all.”

“But we could be a band,” Suki said. 

“We could totally be a band!” Ty Lee agreed. “We could be an incredible band!” 

“Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Yue said calmly. “Katara’s right. We sang one song together.” 

“Yeah, and I don’t want to sing again,” Mai said, though she knew in her heart that it wasn’t completely true. 

Suki was undeterred. “Yue, wouldn’t starting a band be the biggest fuck you to your dad? And you could play music again, but this time, it would be _your_ music, not his. And we could all do it together!” 

“Uh, you’re forgetting the key fact here: I don’t want to.” Mai didn’t care how much fun it had been. She couldn’t restart her life just because she’d had a little too much fun at a karaoke bar. If singing in front of a bunch of people who had already embarrassed themselves made her nervous, what was she going to do when performing in front of a real audience?

_Gosh, what would Mom say?_

But already, Mai saw Yue changing her mind, and she could feel that she was about to be outvoted. “That would be nice…”

“Okay, fine, let’s say we formed a band. Why should you be our manager, if you have zero credentials? How are you going to bolster our career?” Azula questioned Toph. 

“Well, I’m hardworking, I’m passionate, I _love_ music—”

“Concrete answers only. What can you _do_ for us?” 

Toph crossed her arms. “Fine. I have an in with the Beifong Club.” 

Azula’s eyes grew wide. “The most elite club in LA? Are you serious? Why didn’t you lead with that?”

“It’s my parents’ club, but I don’t want to be dependent on them. They’re awful.”’

Azula nodded. “Toph, listen to me. I know a thing or two about rich, awful parents. What you have to do is milk them dry, and run. Use your in to get us a spot at the club, we become famous, you of course get a ten percent cut of all of our profits—” 

“Fifteen.” 

“Eleven.”

“Thirteen.” 

“Twelve and a half.” 

“Azula, can you please hold off on negotiating when all of us haven’t even agreed to be a part of a band?” Mai groaned. 

“Oh, come on, Mai, it’ll be so much fun! We’ll be together all the time!” Ty Lee. 

Mai gulped. “We’re already together all the time, Ty Lee.” 

Ty Lee considered this for a moment, and smiled even harder. “Well, we’ll be together even more than that!”

_Well, that’s a convincing argument._

“Yeah, come on, Mai, are you going to deprive the world of your voice?” Suki asked. “I mean, I’ve known you for how long? And I had _no idea_ that you could sing like that.” 

Mai scowled. “I don’t sing.”

“Um, clearly that’s a lie,” Yue laughed. “You’re amazing.”

“I’m going to have to agree with your friends here,” Toph said. “And if stage fright is a problem for you, if I were your manager, I could totally get somebody to help you with that—” 

“Hang on, I still have to speak with my lawyer,” Azula said. 

“Guys—” Katara said, but Ty Lee cut her off. 

“Mai, your voice is so beautiful. I got chills listening to you sing.” She took Mai’s hands. “Please?” 

Mai sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Guys—” 

“Oh, come on, Mai, we all know you’re just going to do whatever Ty Lee asks of you anyway. Just cut to the part where you agree and let’s draw up a contract,” Azula said, looking down at her manicure (or rather, lack thereof—Mai didn’t know why she insisted on spending all that money when she would just bite her nails down to the quick anyway.)

Ugh. Maybe Azula was right, but she didn’t have to say it. “I do _not_ agree with everything Ty Lee says.”

Azula laughed. “Oh please, you’ve been doing it since we were kids. There’s no shame in it.” 

“Azula!”

“GUYS! I’M NOT JOINING THE BAND!” Katara yelled. 

Everybody stared at Katara. 

“What do you mean you’re not joining the band?” Azula asked. “I’ve already texted Ferdinand!” 

“Who’s Ferdinand?” Suki asked.

“My lawyer, obviously, keep up.” 

“Weren’t you the one who said you would do it every day if you had the chance?” Toph asked.

“I didn’t think we’d actually have the chance! I’m already applying to med school in Boston, Aang—my boyfriend—” she explained for Toph’s benefit “—he’s already been accepted to the law program at BU—” 

“Oh, please don’t tell me you’re going to let your silly little vegan boyfriend get in the way of our contract, Katara!” Azula whined. 

Katara rolled her eyes so hard Mai was worried that they’d fall out of her face. “My point is, I already have plans. My dads are counting on me. I don’t have a backup plan in case this whole band thing—that we came up with five minutes ago, might I add—falls through!” 

Silence fell over the group.

“But if you guys want to do it without me, I totally support you,” Katara said quickly. 

“No,” Suki said. “What we did up there, we did as a group. It’s all of us, or none of us.”

“Agreed,” Mai said quickly, relieved that she didn’t have to be the one to sink the band dream. Ty Lee and Yue nodded as well, and looked at Azula. 

“Right, Azula?” Yue said, soft and sure.

After a moment, Azula finally conceded. “Yes, I suppose we couldn’t do this without Katara.” 

Toph nodded. “I completely understand.” She pulled out a business card. “If you all ever change your minds.” 

Azula snatched the business card from Toph’s hand. “We’ll let you know.” 

And as far as Mai was concerned, that was the end of that. 

_________________________

A week later, while Mai was in the library, she got a text from Katara in the group chat. 

**kyoshi girls**

**KATARA**

_Guess who got rejected from every med school she applied to?????_

**SUKI**

_srsly?!?!?!_

**YUE**

_Oh Katara…_

**TY LEE <3**

_omg katara im so sorry!!! i dont know how they culd have rejected you!!!!! ur so smart :((((((_

**AZULA**

_Yes, that is rather unfortunate, I suppose._

**KATARA**

_Could we meet for lunch? I really need to not see Aangs face rn_

Mai thought for a moment. 

**MAI**

_so sorry to hear that katara. let’s meet at the jasmine dragon. text me your coffee order._

She immediately got a text back from Katara in their private chat. 

**KATARA**

_Thank you so much Mai! Green tea latte pls :) oh, and an almond croissant_

**MAI**

_u got it._

Mai packed her bags and started walking towards the Jasmine Dragon. It was her favorite baba shop, and freshman year, it had become their spot. Luckily, it was only a short walk from the library. 

**KATARA**

_Gosh, now I wish I’d taken that girl at the karaoke club up on her offer_

**MAI**

_what, u mean starting a band?_

**KATARA**

_I mean, yeah?_

**MAI**

_lol, don’t tell azula. she might think you’re serious._

**KATARA**

_Lol, I am serious_

Mai stepped into the tea shop and breathed in the heady aroma of the million different teas being brewed. She needed some calming energy right now.

**MAI**

_rlly?_

**KATARA**

_Beats living with my parents and working at Starbucks full time_

_I really think it could be fun_

**MAI**

_katara. this is just a temporary setback. you'll totally get into the school of your dreams next year._

**KATARA**

_Even if that is true (which it’s not guaranteed)_

_Maybe this is a sign_

_Maybe I was never supposed to be a doctor_

_I mean, I turn down an offer to be a part of a band bc med school, and then_

_A week later_

_I get rejected from all of the med schools I applied to?_

_ALL OF THEM???_

**MAI**

_bruh, breathe. you’re spiraling._

Mai put her phone away and made her order, getting herself a black coffee and a dark chocolate cake pop in addition to Katara’s order, as well as Ty Lee’s rosehip tea. She saw Yue at a table near the window, where she’d already pulled up six chairs for everyone. Yue hadn’t put her color contacts in today, revealing her dark brown eyes, and her updo was messier than usual. 

“Hey,” she said. “Crazy about Katara, huh? And after she spent all that time studying for MCATs.”

Mai nodded and sat down, putting Katara’s coffee and croissant next to her and Ty Lee’s tea on the other side. “Yeah. I’m worried about her. She was telling me that she thinks it might be a sign that we should have started a band after all.”

Yue didn’t respond. 

“Yue?” 

She bit her lip. “Well, I was looking at Katara’s chart…” 

Mai groaned. “Yue, you know that Katara doesn’t believe in that stuff.” That was initially how she and Katara had bonded. Yue, Ty Lee, and Suki were talking about their experiences being asparagus moons or Capri Suns or whatever, and she and Katara had shared a knowing look. After that, they knew they’d be best friends for the rest of their lives. 

“Okay, believe what you want to believe, but look.” Yue turned her phone so that Mai could see what looked like a bunch of meaningless triangles. “See, Katara’s a Virgo, right?” 

“I guess so?” 

“And Virgo’s an earth sign, which means that they’re usually pretty stable. And Virgos are typically put together, high achievers, the whole deal. But look, there’s an eclipse in Virgo this year.”

Mai decided to humor her. “So that means…” 

“Katara’s in for some big changes this year. The person she always thought she was going to be is gone. She’s going to have to redefine her future. And look, she’s a Pisces moon, and Pisces tend to pick creative careers like, for example—” 

“Singing,” Mai said quietly. 

“Right, exactly!” 

“So you’re saying that the stars are saying that Katara should join a band.”

“Well, astrology’s not that specific, but yeah. She could be right about this being a sign.”

Azula pulled out a chair. “Hello, Yue. Hello, Mai.” She eyed Katara’s latte and croissant. “Is that for me?”

Mai put an arm between the food and Azula. “It’s for Katara.” 

“Ugh, fine, I’ll get my own food. Oh, by the way, I spoke with our manager—” 

“Azula, we don’t. Have. A manager. We never agreed to do the whole band thing.” Mai gritted her teeth. Gosh, what was up with her friends today? 

Azula just laughed. “The only thing standing in our way was Katara’s med school dreams, and she’s failed at that, so clearly, a career change is in order.” 

“That is so rude,” Mai said sharply. 

Azula shrugged. “I’m just being honest. Just because you’re taking longer than usual to acquiesce to what Ty Lee wants—” 

“Oh my gosh, will you stop saying that? Ty Lee’s my best friend, yes, but I make my own decisions. And I’m deciding right now that I want no part of this band. You all can do it if you want, but I don’t want to.” 

“All right, we’ll see what you say once Ty Lee gets here.”

“What she means,” Yue said pointedly, “is that we respect your decision, and you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. We love you regardless. And we respect you. Right, Azula?”

Azula pursed her lips. “Of course. I suppose I’m just… overexcited. About the band. You know how I love external validation.” 

Yue nodded sagely. “Having Leo in your tenth house will do that to you.” 

Azula smiled. “Oh Yue, darling, I have no idea what you mean.”

Ty Lee approached the table. “Is Katara here yet?” 

Mai shook her head. “She’ll be here soon.” The situation was terrible, and of course, Mai felt awful for Katara, but when she caught Ty Lee’s eye, she couldn’t help but smile, a little spark rushing down her spine when Ty Lee smiled back. “Oh, by the way, I got you tea.”

Ty Lee positively beamed. “You’re so sweet, Mai, thank you.”

Azula rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mai, how adorable.”

Ty Lee shook her head behind Azula’s back, and Mai smiled a little bit more at her. “Azula, do you want me to get you something to drink?” 

“And a sandwich, if you wouldn’t mind. I had to deal with the most interminable white man of my academic career in lab today.” Azula said, not even bothering to look up at Ty Lee.

Yue laughed. “You say that about all your lab partners, Azula.” 

“Because they’re all like that,” she sighed. At that point, she looked up at Ty Lee, who started walking away to get Azula her food. Mai caught her wrist and coughed in Azula’s direction. 

“What do we say, Azula?”

Azula rolled her eyes. “You sound like my mother.”

“Azula.” 

“Thank you, Ty Lee, for being the bestest friend ever!”

It was clear that there was more than a little sarcasm in Azula’s words, but Ty Lee grinned at the thank you all the same as she skipped off to get their food, and that was enough for Mai. 

At that moment, Suki approached, dressed pretty much like Kim Possible. She sat down with her food and immediately put her foot up onto Katara’s seat. 

“Okay, so you know how my parents and I are trying to learn Vietnamese together to reconnect with our lost culture and all that? Well, today my mom said—” 

“Suki, that seat’s for Katara,” Yue said. 

“Oh, right, sorry.” She sat up. “Sometimes I’m just a little bit too gay.” 

“Absolutely no such thing,” Azula said, and Suki burst into laughter. 

“Oh, what’s so funny, the sound of my hopes and dreams crumbling?” Katara asked. Mai gave her the food. “Thanks, Mai, I love you.” 

“Love you too.” 

“We really are sorry to hear about your terrible news,” Azula said. Katara gave a weak smile. 

“Thanks, Azula. It means a lot. And thank you all for coming on short notice, it means a lot.” 

“Of course. We’d do anything for you, Katara,” Suki said. 

“Yeah, anything,” Mai agreed. Katara raised her eyebrows at that. 

“Anything?” She was staring directly at Mai now. “You really mean that?” 

Mai felt like she was being lured into a trap, but she couldn’t back out now. “Yeah, anything. You know that.”

Katara nodded. “All right then. Azula, do you still have Toph’s business card?” 

“Absolutely. I spoke to her right before coming here.” 

“Excellent, what did she say?”

“Oh my gosh, no.” Mai wasn’t feeling great about this. Katara and Azula snipping at each other could get annoying sometimes, but she was downright afraid of a Katara and Azula who were on the same page. “I thought we were done with this.” 

“Done with what?” Ty Lee asked, setting Azula’s drink and sandwich in front of her. Mai’s heart thudded in her chest. 

“The whole band thing. Azula called that manager from the other night.”

A series of emotions passed over Ty Lee’s face, confusion followed by elation followed by carefully concealed excitement. “I mean, Katara, how do you feel about it?” 

Katara shook her head. “You know, the more I think about it, the more I’m thinking that this whole doctor dream was just. Me trying to be part of the prestige machine. Me trying to be socially acceptable to make up for the fact that me and Sokka were the only Inupiat in our high school. I’ve spent years and years trying to be what they want, and, I don’t know. I’m sick of it. It’s time for a change.”

Ty Lee grinned. “I totally agree Katara! I did take a quick peek at your chart before I came here—”

“Me too!” Yue said. “The eclipse—”

“In Virgo—” 

“Katara, you’re totally right, your whole life is changing!”

“Follow your Pisces moon!” 

Katara rolled her eyes a little, but she was smiling. “Just because I’m not a scientist anymore doesn’t mean I believe in astrology. But you’re right. I think we should go for it.” 

“Eeeee, we’re going to start a band!” Ty Lee squealed. 

“This is going to be amazing!” Suki said. 

“I’m so excited you guys!” Yue exclaimed. 

Mai saw all of her friends collectively lose it, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. 

“Okay, everybody, can we all calm down?” She pointed a finger at Katara. “You have not processed your rejections yet. You are in no position to be making huge life decisions like this. And the rest of you shouldn’t be encouraging her! She needs time.”

“Oh, come on, Mai, I’m fine, I promise,” Katara said. “Anyway, if it doesn’t work out, I can reapply to med school in a year if I really want to, even though honestly, I’m really, truly over it. But I want to _do_ something in the meantime. And what better thing could I do?”

Mai was undeterred. “Well, what about Aang? I thought you were moving to Boston with him.” 

Katara shook her head. “And leave my best friends for a man? Not now. I’d be setting such a poor example for all my single friends.” 

“Ouch,” Suki laughed. “That was rude, Katara.”

“But she’s right!” Azula said. “The six of us together are far more powerful than Katara could ever be with her vegan boyfriend.”

“Okay, stop making fun of Aang.”

And to Mai’s surprise, Azula actually listened. Instead, she turned to Mai. “What is this really about? The stage fright nonsense?” 

Mai scowled. “I’m concerned about our friend, that’s all.” 

“Didn’t Toph say she could help you with the stage fright thing?” Suki said. “I mean, I understand being afraid, but you were amazing last week. And I know you had fun.” 

“Yeah, but I did it—” she swallowed, forcing herself not to look at Ty Lee “—I did it for Yue. It was a special occasion.”

“Okay, well, I just got rejected from every medical school I applied to and decided to gamble with my future. Is that a special enough occasion for you?” 

“Katara.” Yue said. She turned to Mai. “Look, we understand if you’re scared, okay?” 

“I’m not scared.”

Azula sighed. “Mai, you’re clearly scared and in denial about it.” 

“Which is fine!” Yue repeated.

Ty Lee put her hand over Mai’s. “Mai, we love you. And if you don’t want to do it, we completely understand. But I haven’t seen you have that much fun in a long time. And no, don’t try to deny it. I know you. You were nervous, but once you got into it, you were all smiley and pretty and you were absolutely amazing.”

Mai fought a blush. _Ty Lee thinks I was pretty._

“I haven’t seen you that happy since we got drunk in high school and sang Avril Lavigne at the top of our lungs,” Suki said. “Remember? Your mom was so pissed.” 

Mai shuffled in her seat. “Yeah, I remember. She told me to quit singing after that.”

Yue scooted closer to Mai. “Mai, hon, look at me.” 

Mai did, and there was nothing but warmth and understanding in Yue’s dark brown eyes. “Listen: you do not have to let your parents define the rest of your life. You’re a great singer. You did Donna justice. And even if you don’t sing with us, you should keep singing.” 

“But please, sing with us. We’re this close to having a workable contract,” Azula said.

Mai turned to Ty Lee, who was rubbing tiny hearts into Mai’s skin with her fingers. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were shining. Mai knew that Ty Lee would never love her the way that Mai loved Ty Lee, but when she looked like this, there was nothing Mai wouldn’t do for her. She’d jump in front of a bullet, a car, a train, anything to make her smile. 

“Fine. I’ll join the band.”

______________________

Mai was starting to regret her decision three days later when Toph led them up to a dusty attic and said “Welcome to my office!”

“It’s, ah…quaint?” Katara said. 

“Very quaint,” Yue agreed.

“Extremely quaint,” Suki said, a note of disdain buried in her voice. 

Azula coughed. “Goodness, I can barely breathe in here.” 

“Oh, piss off,” Toph said. “I’m going to clean it soon. Having clients is new for me, all right?” She sat down in a falling apart rolly chair behind a desk with a whole bunch of scuff marks. “So, here’s the plan: we’ll sign the contract, and start forming the band. Do you guys have a name?” 

Mai looked at the rest of them. They’d spent so much time focusing on cities they were going to visit and the celebrities that they were going to meet that they’d forgotten to pick out a name. 

“Um, well…” Katara said. “I had an idea, if no one else does.”

Toph nodded. “Sure, go for it.” 

“Okay, so what if we called ourselves ‘The Bad Girls’?”

Mai put her head in her hands and shook her head. “No, Katara, just… no,” she said through her fingers. 

“What? It makes sense! That was the first song we sang as a group. It’s sentimental!” 

“Katara, I hate to break it to you, but that is the worst name for a band that I have ever heard in my life,” Azula said. 

“Gotta agree with your friend there, sweetness,” Toph said. Katara crossed her arms. “But you’re right, it should be something that unites all of you.” She tapped her pen on her chin. “Why don’t you guys tell me about your friendship?” 

Mai frowned, but of course, Azula was ready to start monologuing: “Well, it all started when Mai, Ty Lee, and I met at the Fire Academy, the most elite kindergarten in the city.”

“That’s not where it started at _all_ ,” Mai groaned. “Our dads were business partners. Are business partners, I guess. My dad had this idea for a tech startup and he got Ty Lee and Azula’s dads to invest in it, and my dad said that I had to be best friends with both of them for the good of the family.” 

“Well, considering my family had just packed up our entire lives in Japan to come and help your father with his startup, which made him a very rich man, might I add, it was only fair,” Azula retorted. 

“Azula, you hate your family.” 

“Doesn’t change the fact that I had to learn the imperial system for your father.” 

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. “Stop it, both of you. All of our parents are rich and _they all suck._ ” 

Katara made a gagging noise. “I always forget you’re rich kids.”

Azula smirked. “Anyway, Suki joined our little group in the fifth grade when she and Ty Lee were on the cheerleading team together.” 

“It was really great finding a friend who was just as into team sports as I was,” Ty Lee said cheerfully. “Mai has her knife throwing, Azula has her judo, and I have cheerleading!” 

“Well, I also do martial arts,” Suki said. “But I’m into aikido, not judo. My adoptive parents had me start when my bio parents died because… well, because I was angry all the time and they wanted me to take it out on a mat instead of on them. Turns out, Azula’s dojo had been across the street from mine for years, but we just never crossed paths. We started carpooling in… seventh grade, I think it was?”

“Yes, but it definitely took us a while to warm up to each other,” Azula said. Suki laughed. 

“It took _you_ a while to warm up to _me._ You wouldn’t let me sit with you at lunch until Mai and I beat up that guy who was making fun of you.” 

“Oh, yes, that was lovely to watch. No one had the audacity to mess with me again after that.” 

Suki coughed out a “You’re welcome!” before continuing. “And then I started flirting with Katara’s brother, and Katara and I became friends, but he ended up dating Yue, so then she and Katara became friends, and then Azula challenged him to Monopoly for my honor and the whole situation was so batshit that we ended up becoming friends, and she dumped him.” 

“Not related to us being friends. His birth chart wasn’t compatible with mine,” Yue added quickly. “He’s a nice guy, but I just can’t date an Aquarius moon long-term.”

“Oh, of course not!” Ty Lee said. “Nobody’s judging you for that.”

Katara looked at Mai in a way that communicated that she was very much judging Yue for that, but she simply said, “As long as his love life doesn’t interfere with my social life.”

“And as long as he never rises up from the ashes of defeat,” Azula said ominously. Toph looked askance at her, and Mai just shook her head. When you’d known Azula for as long as Mai had known her, you learned not to ask.

“And then I introduced Yue and Katara to Mai, Ty Lee, and Azula, and we really meshed well as a group,” Suki finished. “I think we all became friends when we sat down to watch that anime about that bisexual warrior goddess in sophomore year. Remember that?” 

“Kyoshi,” Azula said longingly. “I love her so much.” 

“Not gonna lie, that anime made me question my sexuality a little bit,” Katara giggled. 

“Yeah, I remember that,” Suki laughed. 

“She’s such an inspiration. Remember that episode where she made her own island to defeat that guy?” Yue asked. 

“The power of bisexuality,” Ty Lee sighed. 

“After we watched Kyoshi, I started working double time on my knife throwing,” Mai said. “I get a bullseye every time now, and it’s all thanks to her.” 

Ty Lee grinned at her. Mai couldn’t lie, the look on her face every time she saw Mai get a bullseye was no small inspiration either. 

“Our group chat is called ‘kyoshi girls’, after her,” Katara said. “I think she’s what bonds us together the most.”

Toph sat back in her chair, placing her hands behind her head and putting her feet up on her dusty table. “So what if you named the band after her?” 

“Kyoshi girls?” Suki scrunched up her nose. “Maybe drop the ‘girls’?”

“Kyoshi.” Mai smiled a little. “Sounds edgy.” 

“You’re exactly right, Mai. It sounds edgy, cool, new, modern. Exactly the kind of thing I can market to the Beifong Club.”

“I like it,” Azula said. “Any objections?”

The girls shook their heads. It was official. They had found their band name.

_____________________

“I’m just saying, Leikeli47 has a really unique sound!” 

Mai scowled. “And I’m saying, I don’t like it!” 

“Oh, what, so you want us to be the Chicks? Absolutely not!”

“I listen to punk! The Chicks are just—” 

“A guilty pleasure, and yet somehow you’ve been playing them as examples of what we could do with our band for the last hour!” Suki said. An hour ago, when they were more willing to be playful, she might have smirked at Mai, but now she was just mad. “Your music taste is so fucking white, I don’t get it.” 

“Ah yes, because EDM rap and R&B are so reflective of _your_ culture.” Mai scowled. “Look, all I was saying is, we’re a girl group, they’re a girl group, maybe there’s something there!” 

“Mai, I can accept you being a closet country fan, but we’re not going to be a country band, and that’s final!” 

“Okay, I think now’s a good time to take a break!” Toph cut in. “Everybody get some snacks, we’ll meet back in half an hour.”

“Oh, come on Toph, where are we supposed to get snacks when we’re hiding out in your parents’ dusty attic?” Azula snapped. Toph took a deep breath. 

“Fine! You have an hour. I am going to get some mystery tea from my parents’ medicine cabinet and forget that all of you exist!” 

“Fine by me!” Katara yelled, wiping down every surface in sight. 

Toph stopped in the doorway. “She’s not stress cleaning the office, is she?”

The room fell silent. Toph glowered. 

“Ugh, you people are insufferable!” 

Mai crossed her arms over her chest. “This is why we should have thought through starting a band before we signed a contract. I mean, how are we supposed to make music if we can’t even agree on what kind of music we want to make?” 

Ty Lee slumped down next to her. “I suppose we’re all pretty different, huh?” 

Mai stroked her head. Ty Lee listened to Top 40 and kpop, only, which was charming when they would hop into Mai’s car and playfight over the AUX, but less so when they couldn’t agree on what they wanted their sound to be and three other people had strong opinions about it. Azula had suggested branding themselves as “the girl MCR” which was absolutely unfathomable to Mai, while Katara was playing Bon Iver as an example of what they could sound like, which put them all to sleep. And then, of course, Suki had left the punk pop of their childhood for… EDM rap? Mai didn’t understand it at all. Yue piped up every now and then, but her music taste was mostly stuck in the disco days, and they all decided against that pretty quickly. “Bad Girls” may have brought them together, but not even the power of friendship could revive Donna Summer for longer than a few minutes. The rest of the music Yue listened to was throat singing, which wasn’t even an option considering most of them weren’t Inupiat or Yup’ik, or classical, which was even worse than the Bon Iver. 

In normal friendship circumstances, the differences between all of them would be charming. But Mai had no idea how they were supposed to unite all of their different aesthetics to form one band. 

“Hey,” she mumbled into Ty Lee’s hair. “Zuko’s uncle told me they just opened a new franchise of the Jasmine Dragon. It’s like five minutes from here. Want to check it out?” 

Ty Lee nodded against Mai’s chest. Mai wondered if she could hear how her heart was racing. Surely, she thought, Ty Lee didn’t know about how Mai felt about her. Why else would she cuddle close to her like this, if it weren’t completely platonic? As soon as Ty Lee found out (and she would find out, Mai knew it, it was only a matter of time), their entire relationship would change. Ty Lee would grow more distant, spend less time alone with her. And Mai didn’t think she could take it. 

Ty Lee stood up abruptly and ran out the door. “Race you!” she yelled behind her, her braid swinging as she slid down the ladder and dashed down the hall. 

Against her better judgment, Mai laughed, and followed her. 

Ty Lee was dressed to run, as she usually was, but Mai’s legs were longer, so even though her feet were killing her, she was able to catch up to Ty Lee. They ended up reaching the new Jasmine Dragon location together, their fingers brushing as they clasped the handle at the same time. Ty Lee smiled shyly at Mai, which confused her. Mai was the one with small, reluctant smiles, while Ty Lee’s face was always broken open in a wide grin. She looked cute like this though, cheeks dusted pink from the run, barely looking up at Mai. 

They strode into the shop, and to Mai’s delight, Jet was working. He was Zuko’s friend (or frenemy or whatever), mainly, but he’d introduced her to the Chicks, and they still met up sometimes to talk about their music. When _Gaslighter_ had come out, they argued about whether or not it was good for four hours. His opinions annoyed her, but he didn’t back down, and she liked that. He caught her eye, and without saying a word, started playing “The Long Way Around.” 

“I don’t care what Zuko says, you’re the best guy I know, Jet,” Mai said. 

“I’ll make sure to tell him,” Jet said. “He’ll throw a fit.”

Mai smirked. “Rosehip tea for her, black coffee for me,” she said. Jet nodded.

“That’ll be 5.57.”

Before Mai could even begin to get her wallet, Ty Lee pulled out her credit card and paid for both of them. “You paid last time,” she said, the look on her face telling Mai that this was not up for debate.

Jet looked between them, but he took Ty Lee’s card. That was one of the things Mai liked most about Jet: he didn’t ask questions.

“We’ll have your drinks in just a moment,” he said. “Thank you for patronizing the Jasmine Dragon.” 

“Ugh, don’t tell me Iroh makes you say that.” 

“He’s trying to get me to work on my customer service,” Jet said plainly. “Enjoy your day.” 

She and Ty Lee stood to the side. Ty Lee started singing along to the music. 

“ _I’ve been a long time gone now/maybe someday, someday I’m gonna settle down/But I’ve always found my way somehow/By taking the long way/Taking the long way around/Taking the long way/Taking the long way ‘round._ ”

Mai nudged her, smiling. “I didn’t know you knew this song.” 

Ty Lee laughed. “You’re only singing it, like, all the time. It’s your favorite.” 

Mai rolled her eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” It was her favorite, but how did Ty Lee know that? 

Ty Lee kept humming along to the song, and it only made the song better, hearing it in Ty Lee’s voice. “You know, this isn’t so different from the Bon Iver Katara was playing us,” Ty Lee said. 

Mai gagged. “Ugh, how could you say that?”

“It’s true! The music we like—I mean, I know we were arguing about it for hours, but it’s actually not that different. It’s all got something to say.” 

Mai narrowed her eyes. “Ty Lee, I love you, but what exactly does Top 40 radio have to say?” 

Ty Lee rolled her eyes. “Things get popular for a reason. Top 40 resonates with people. You know, this song isn’t at all different from Taylor Swift’s pop era.”

Mai tried to come up with a response, but Ty Lee was right. “Okay, I agree with you. But getting Azula and Suki on the same page is a different story.” 

Ty Lee thought for a moment. “Have you ever shown Azula that Chicks song where they sing about how much people hurt them when they spoke out against the war in Iraq?” 

Mai frowned. “How do you even know about that song? Or what it’s about?” 

“Duh, I listen to you when you talk, silly. So I’m guessing she’s never heard it?” 

Mai shook her head. “Not that I know of, at least.” 

“I think you should play it, when we get back. The thing that Azula’s connecting to in MCR isn’t the sound, it’s the anger. That’s why she likes Destiny’s Child too.” 

It had been a while, but Mai remembered Azula losing it on the dance floor at their senior prom when they started playing “Say My Name.” “Huh. I guess you’re right.” 

“And Destiny’s Child at the end of the day is a bunch of strong, beautiful women singing about their lives, just like the Chicks. Right? I mean, Beyonce and the Chicks did a song together.” 

Mai nodded slowly. “And it has a lot in common with that artist Suki likes. Lauryn Hill.” 

“Exactly! And Lauryn was totally inspired by Donna. I mean, who wasn’t, she’s a total icon.” 

Mai stared at her in amazement. “Ty, I think you just found our sound.” 

_____________________

They decided to test the waters of their new sound by doing a cover of “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer. Yue arranged the piece, shifting the guitars for piano and putting more emphasis on the vocals and harmonies. They decided that they wouldn’t play their own instruments, focusing instead on singing and performing. 

“Now, if I could only find someone for you to record with,” Toph said. 

“Hold on one moment,” Katara said, picking up her phone. “Sokka, can you do me a favor?” 

Apparently, Katara’s brother was a sound engineer. Mai didn’t know him that well to be honest. She’d met him twice and all she could say was that he went to UCLA with them and he was kind of a clown. Ty Lee had liked him at one point, and even though Ty Lee had come out as a lesbian ages ago and insisted the whole thing with Sokka was comphet, Mai still held it against him. But if he could record their music, she supposed she could tolerate him. 

The next day, they showed up at Sokka and Katara’s house, where Sokka had a makeshift recording studio waiting for them. 

“Hello, ladies,” Sokka said. “Azula.” 

“Sokka.” No further conversation. Mai had only ever heard Azula speak of Sokka in curses under her breath. Something about Scrabble? Whatever it was, Mai knew she didn’t need details. Anyone Azula looked at with that amount of grudging respect wasn’t somebody Mai was anxious to get to know. 

“Pleasure to meet you,” he said to Mai, looking her up and down. She rolled her eyes. 

“You’ve met me twice. And I’m gay. And I could kill you with the Swiss army knife in my purse.” 

None of that seemed to affect him in the slightest. “So you like weapons, huh? I myself have a pretty decent collection. I’ve got a bola, a nuquq and darts, a—” 

Mai was about to show him exactly how much she liked weapons, but Suki elbowed him before she got the opportunity. “Quit it, Sokka.” 

“What, I’m just being nice!” 

“Mai doesn’t do nice.” 

“Ugh, fine, guess I’ll just be completely professional doing this job that no one’s paying me for!” 

Katara flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You’re getting paid by me not telling dads about that thing in the quad with the geodes—” 

“Okay, okay, fine, let’s get this over with. Everybody, get in the booth. Toph, you’re by me. Crowd around the mic, yeah, like that. Okay, whenever you’re ready.”

Mai was supposed to start, but she felt like she couldn’t breathe. She blinked a couple of times, trying to root herself to this moment, but it was no use. She was spiraling. She couldn’t do this, how could she do this—

Before she could do anything, Ty Lee reached out and grabbed her hand, rubbing circles around her knuckles. Mai felt herself relax, and she began to sing. 

“ _Sittin’ here eatin’ my heart out waitin’/Waitin’ for some lover to come._ ” 

And just like that, Mai felt light, like she was soaring. Her fear, the knot of anxiety in her stomach, was forgotten. Ty Lee didn’t let go of her hand. 

They’d decided before recording to change the lyrics to be explicitly gay, which made Mai happy at the time, but she was positively thrilled to hear the changes in Ty Lee’s lovely soprano while she was holding Mai’s hand. 

They spent most of the next hour recording, taking suggestions from Sokka, who, Mai could recognize, was not that bad of a sound engineer. Probably pretty good, all things considered. Toph seemed to be pretty happy with whatever he was doing, constantly giving them thumbs up. Or thumbs up vaguely in their direction, at any rate. 

Ty Lee didn’t let go of Mai’s hand the entire time. Mai assumed that it was to keep her from getting nervous again, seeing that Ty Lee seemed to be pretty conscious of the calming effect she had. At one point, Sokka looked at them quizzically, but he was decent enough not to say anything. He had that going for him, at least. 

Finally, they’re done. Sokka smiled at them. “I’ll have this done by the end of the week,” he said. “I’d say the end of the day, but I’ve got a paper due tomorrow that I haven’t started on.” 

Katara rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand how you’re getting through grad school.” 

“Me neither, little sis, me neither.” 

Sokka did better than his word. Three days later, Mai received a text. 

**Official kyoshi band**

**TOPH**

_It’s done._

**TY LEE**

_eeeeeeeeeee really?!?!?!?!?_

**TOPH**

_Emailing it now._

Mai was neck deep in a collection of Ted Chiang stories when Ty Lee got the email. “Mai, Mai, we _have_ to listen to it!” 

A girl across from them glared at her. Ty Lee paid her no mind, instead pulling out her phone and her Sailor Moon-themed earbuds and handed Mai one. Mai knew Ty Lee hated wireless earbuds, and took the opportunity to lean in close to her as they listened to the song. 

“Oh, gosh, hearing the sound of your own voice is so much worse when you’re singing,” Mai groaned. 

Ty Lee beamed. “You sound amazing!” 

And, as the song went on, Mai kind of started to believe Ty Lee. She didn’t sound as good as the rest of them, maybe, but she could hit lower notes than Katara and Suki, the altos, which rounded out their sound pretty nicely. And she supposed it was cool for a girl group to have such a range, or at least it made their harmonies sound really interesting. Mai’s mother had always insisted that her deep voice made her sound unfeminine, said she should quit once she started transitioning, but hearing it alongside everybody else, it felt right. 

Ty Lee was beaming when the song was over. “Oh my goodness, Mai, that was incredible! Do you think people are going to love it?” 

At that moment, Mai got a text in the group chat from Suki. 

**SUKI**

_(sent screenshot)_

_ID: screenshot of Youtube view count, it’s 5,000. End ID_

_And Toph you posted this last night??????_

**TOPH**

_Holy shit. You’re going viral._

“I think people already love it,” Mai said. “I think people love it a lot.” 

For the rest of the afternoon, Mai tried to focus on her book, but she couldn’t resists checking the view count every hour or so. 5,500. 6,000. A bunch of comments: _This song is incredible! These girls are so talented! I saw them perform at my local karaoke club a month ago, look at them now!_

Ty Lee grinned at Mai. “See, aren’t you glad now that you joined the band? Isn’t this exciting?” 

It was, but Mai could still feel her stomach twist. There were other comments, comments that reminded her of her mother, of why she stopped singing. _That goth girl sounds like a boy. The rest of them sound so pretty, what’s she doing here?_

“Yeah, it’s great,” Mai said. “Just fantastic.” 

Ty Lee looked up at Mai. “You read the comments, huh?” 

Mai crossed her arms. “This was the whole reason I didn’t want to do this.” 

“Mai,” Ty Lee said, holding her face in her hands. Mai hoped she wasn’t turning red. “Your voice is so beautiful. I love hearing it so much. And there are so many other people who love hearing it too.” 

Mai leaned into the touch, hating herself all the while. “Promise?” 

Ty Lee nodded, years of platonic love in her eyes. It was too cruel, too classic, for Mai to be in love with her best friend like this. They were so different, and yet, Mai knew that she was going to be in love with Ty Lee forever. 

She could never know. 

“Promise,” Ty Lee said. She took Mai into her arms, and when she let go of her, all Mai could do was wish for that touch back. 

They sat in the library for another few hours. Ty Lee was working on something, a paper for her dance history class, and Mai’s glances kept sneaking over to her. She was deep in thought, chewing a pen even though she had her laptop open in front of her, and she got up often to stretch. 

And then, Mai had a thought. She put down her book and got out a piece of paper. _Gosh, it’s been too long_. She wrote out some phrases, and the phrases turned into lyrics just as soon as she’d written them down. Like riding a bike. 

Or maybe her muse was just that exceptional.

____________________________ 

“All right, ladies, focus up!” Azula yelled. “The Beifong Club auditions are in a week. We have much going for us in terms of online momentum, but none of it matters unless we execute this audition to absolute perfection. Now, let’s go over our plan. Katara, what’s the plan?” 

Katara rolled her eyes. “We show up in the outfits Toph picked for us, and do an acoustic version of ‘Hot Stuff.’ They love us, and we get the gig. There’s not much to it.” 

“It’s important that we’re all on the same page! Now, about the—” 

At that moment, Toph burst into the room, panting, with her white cane in her left hand and six dry-cleaned outfits under her right arm. “We have a serious problem.” 

“What do you mean, problem? I haven’t budgeted out enough time for us to have a problem!”Azula snarled. 

“Is it the outfits?” Yue asked. 

“No, the outfits are about as incredible as you could imagine. My magnum opus, and they’re never going to see the light of day. I swear, my parents are trying to sabotage me.” Toph groaned.They changed the rules. Nobody’s allowed to sing covers anymore. It has to be original music.” 

“What?” Katara said. “But it’s a week out! They can’t change the rules so suddenly like that!” 

“Apparently they can!” Toph gritted her teeth. “Apparently, when you’re rich and completely useless as a human being, and you hate your only daughter for trying to be successful on her own instead of bending to your will and acting like a little child even though she can fend for herself, you can do whatever you want!” 

“Okay, okay, everybody, let’s calm down,” Suki said. “We can write a song. In a week. Totally. It can’t be that hard.” 

“People take months to write songs, Suki,” Yue said sadly. “It once took my father a year to compose five minutes of a symphony he was writing.” 

“Well, your father is a useless asshole, correct? We can do better than that,” Azula said, trying to sound confident, but there was an edge to her tone. “Don’t you compose music?” 

“Not this kind of music, Azula! The only lyrics I’ve ever written are in Yup’ik!” 

“But we could probably figure it out, between the six of us,” Suki said. 

“Yeah,” Katara said. “I’m sure all of us, with no songwriting experience, can write a song in a week. It’ll be a fun… bonding experience?” 

Azula groaned. It was at that moment that Ty Lee decided to say “Mai has songwriting experience.”

Mai stared at her. “Ty Lee!” 

“I’m sorry, but in this situation, it’s important information!” Ty Lee said. “You’re the only one who can help us!” 

“What is the nature of your songwriting experience?” Azula asked. “And why is Ty Lee the only one who knows?” 

“I mean, the second part’s obvious,” Suki said. “Mai and Ty Lee are closer to each other than they are to any of us. Even you, Azula.”

Azula and her therapist must have come a long way, because Mai can remember a time when somebody saying that to Azula that bluntly would have resulted in a screaming match. But now, all she did was sigh. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. “But that still doesn’t explain where Mai learned to write songs and why she hasn’t shared this crucial piece of information until just this moment.” 

“Well, technically, I didn’t share it,” Mai said. She tried to glare at Ty Lee, but it felt more fond than angry. Damn it, even when she _was_ pissed at her best friend, the crush somehow managed to overtake it. She took a deep breath. “I wrote some ‘concerning’ poetry in elementary school and my music teachers thought it would be a good creative outlet to teach me how to write songs. Ty Lee was the only person I showed them to.” 

“They were really good,” Ty Lee said. “Even when we were kids. Miss Li and Miss Lo said Mai was really talented.” 

“But that was in elementary school,” Azula said. “Surely you’re rusty.” 

“Well, I kept at it,” Mai said. “Basically until the end of high school. After that, I thought I wasn’t going to keep doing music anymore, even as a hobby, but well… you know… this happened. And I started writing again.” 

“Wait, you did?” Ty Lee asked. “That’s great! So you have something we can sing?” 

Toph grinned at her. “Mai, you’re officially my favorite member of the band.” 

Mai realized her mistake. “I—I don’t know if it’s any good.” 

“Oh, come on, I’m sure it’s great!” Ty Lee said, beaming at Mai. 

“It’s better than what we have,” Yue said. “Which is nothing.” 

Mai gulped. Everybody was staring expectantly at her, especially Ty Lee, with her wide, perfect brown eyes. But if she shared this song, Ty Lee might know. Sure, Mai didn’t mention Ty Lee by name, but who else could she possibly be talking about? What other girl could capture Mai’s heart the way Ty Lee did? 

She took a deep breath. “Ugh, fine.” Her hands were shaking as she pulled the piece of paper out of her bag and set it on Toph’s desk. “The lyrics are finished, but I’m still working on the melody, so Yue, maybe you can help with that?” 

“Oh, of course,” Yue said. 

They all crowded around the piece of paper. 

“Oh my gosh, Mai, this is amazing,” Suki said. “I’m literally about to cry right now.” 

“It’s so pretty,” Katara agreed. 

“I could totally do a bunch with the melody,” Yue said. “Oh Mai, I love it!”

“Mai, this is my ticket to stardom!” Toph yelled. The girls stared at her. “I mean, your ticket. Your ticket, obviously. Our ticket. Point is, this’ll get us through the auditions with no problem!” 

“Yes, I suppose it’s adequate,” Azula said. Katara elbowed her. “Okay, okay, fine, it’s better than adequate. It’s… it’s incredible, Mai. Really. I can’t believe I never knew how talented you were.” 

Wow. Those were strong sentiments from Azula. “I never wanted anybody to know,” Mai said quietly. 

“Mai, don’t be ridiculous,” Katara said. “You have a gift. And I’m so glad that I get to be a part of sharing that gift with the world.” 

In the midst of all the chaos, Ty Lee had gone strangely quiet. Mai’s hands grew clammy. “Ty Lee?” she asked. “What do you think?” 

When Ty Lee turned to her, her expression was completely blank. Mai had never seen her like that before. “It’s… it’s good.” She smiled, but Mai could see right through it. “Like I knew it would be.” 

Mai felt her heart drop into the floor. “Thanks.”  
Yue finished an edited version of Mai’s melody the next day, and for the next six days, they did nothing but practice singing Mai’s song about how she was in love with her best friend and had no way to tell her. Meanwhile, said best friend was putting on an upbeat, perky face, but Mai knew it was a lie. It had never been an effort for Ty Lee to smile at anyone, especially Mai, but it was now. 

Mai didn’t know what to do. Every time they ran through her song, her happiness at hearing her friends sing her lyrics was tempered by the fact that her friendship with Ty Lee was probably falling apart because of it. It got to the point where a stranger would have been able to determine that something was off with Mai’s best friend, and the longer it went on, the more Mai felt like a stranger herself. 

On the day of the Beifong Club auditions, Toph hurried everyone inside, “before my parents see you!” They were in the greenroom with a bunch of other acts: a guy and his wife singing some indie-sounding song about a secret tunnel, a group dressed in strange costumes that called themselves the Ember Island Players, and a man with cabbages (Mai didn’t get that at all—what were the cabbages for? What was he going to do with them? Why were they competing against people like that?)

They changed into the outfits that Toph had gotten for them. She said that the goal was “different, but unified.” All of the outfits were one solid color. Mai’s was black, of course, a leather jacket, blouse, flippy thigh-length pleated skirt, fishnets, and ankle boots. Suki was in a green crop top, cargo pants and suspenders, Azula was in this fabulous red silk trench coat, Katara was in a light blue dress, Yue was in a white off the shoulder top and skinny jeans. 

And Ty Lee. Ty Lee looked perfect. Just a pink crop top and leggings and pink sneakers. Not even that different from what she wore normally. And it was so perfect for her. She smiled a real smile for the first time in days when she saw it, and Mai was so, so in love. 

Toph was right. The outfits _were_ her magnum opus. Katara’s boyfriend had helped some, Mai knew, because he was crafty and supported Katara in absolutely everything she did, looking at her adoringly all the while. Mai never thought she’d be jealous of Katara, but knowing how Katara’s close friendship with Aang had developed into them dating and probably getting married in a few years, she wished Ty Lee would look at her the way Aang looked at Katara. 

“Okay, Kyoshi, over here!” Toph yelled. They all huddled in close. “Okay, so you’re going to go out there, introduce yourselves, sing the song just like we practiced, show my parents that I _can_ break into the music industry on my own, and get the damn gig! Who’s with me?” 

“Yeah!” Suki said. Everybody looked upbeat, excited, ready—

Ty Lee burst into tears. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I can’t, I have to—” 

Without another word, she ran off.

“What, Ty Lee, wait!” Mai yelled, but she was gone. 

She turned back to the group, who were all glaring at her. 

“What, what did I do?” 

Katara sighed. “Was I like this with Aang?” 

“No, you two are much better at communicating, don’t worry,” Suki said, not taking her eyes off of Mai. “It was like, one week of weirdness, tops.” 

“What are you talking about?” Mai was so confused. “What do we do?” 

Azula rolled her eyes. “Well, isn’t it obvious? You go after Ty Lee. You’re the one who’s in love with her, after all. And we only have fifteen minutes before we’re supposed to go on.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” 

“Just go,” Yue said. “Come on. She’ll listen to you.” 

“She really could have timed this better,” Toph grumbled. Suki ruffled her hair. 

“You can’t put love on a timer.” 

And then, Mai understood. Finally, _finally_ , Mai understood. 

“I have to go.” 

And she ran down the hall, looking for Ty Lee. 

___________________________

Mai found her in a corner, sobbing, a mess of tissues next to her.

“Hey,” Mai said, tucking a piece of loose hair behind Ty Lee’s ear. “What’s wrong?” 

Ty Lee turned her face away from Mai. “I don’t want to talk about it.” 

That stung, it did, but now Mai knew where it was coming from. “Can I talk, then?” She stroked Ty Lee’s hair. “I wrote that song about you.” 

Ty Lee blinked. “You did? I thought—” 

But Mai had to finish. She had to say what she’d been afraid of. “I’m in love with you. I’ve been in love with you for such a long time. At least since I broke up with Zuko. Maybe even while I was with him. Maybe since I first saw you when we were kids. I didn’t tell you because… because I didn’t want things to change. But they have changed, haven’t they? So much of our lives has changed, and it wasn’t wrong, or bad. Everything’s turned out great. So maybe—maybe, if you want, we could—” 

Ty Lee cut Mai off with a kiss. It was messy and uncoordinated, because Mai couldn’t stop herself from smiling, and her and Ty Lee’s teeth clacked together, and their noses bumped. 

Ty Lee pulled away, beaming. “We’re pretty bad at that, huh?” 

Mai grinned. “I think we’re just a little too excited,” she said. She went in again, carefully this time, treating her best friend like she was the most precious thing to her in the world, because _she was,_ she so, so was. 

Ty Lee pulled away again, quickly. “You know I’m in love with you too, right? I always have been.” 

Mai laughed. “Yeah, I figured. It’s nice to hear you say it.” 

“Well, you’re going to hear it all the time now,” Ty Lee said. “You deserve to know that somebody loves you, and is thinking about you, all the time.” 

Mai had never been one for mush, but seeing the softness in Ty Lee’s eyes, the insistence in her voice, she thought maybe she could get used to it, if it was coming from the right person. 

They kissed for a few minutes more, until they heard a cough behind them. “Ahem.” 

The rest of Kyoshi and Toph stood behind them. Mai got up and quickly straightened herself up. 

“We’re on in 5.” Toph crossed her arms. “This better not be a band-ruining romance.” 

Azula scoffed. “Please, Mai and Ty Lee are professionals,” she said matter-of-factly. “Now, when Suki and Yue get their acts together—” 

Suki and Yue both turned red, and Azula laughed some more. “I’m sorry, did you not know? My bad. Suppose we’ll give you another ten years to sort things out, just like we did with Mai and Ty Lee.” 

“Azula!” Katara scolded, and for once, it made Mai smile. It was so normal. She had her friends, she had her music, and she had—well, she had Ty Lee. Different than before, maybe. Better, definitely.

Mai smiled and took Ty Lee’s hand. “Are you ready?” 

Ty Lee grinned and squeezed her hand. “Yeah, let’s go sing my song.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, and if you want more ATLA content from me you can follow my tumblr @harutheestallion. 
> 
> If you liked this fic, I would encourage you to check out [ The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, ](https://firrp.org/) an organization working to provide free legal and social services to immigrants under threat of deportation in Arizona, [ Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus, ](https://www.advancingjustice-alc.org/who-we-are/about-2/) an organization working to provide legal counsel to low-income folks in AAPI communities in San Francisco, and [ The Garment Worker Center, ](https://garmentworkercenter.org/) an organization founded by low-income immigrant women of color working to end sweatshop labor. Thank you so much for checking out and supporting these organizations, it really means a lot to me. 
> 
> Also, I'm definitely going to write more in this verse. I have a bunch of ideas, but I'm also taking suggestions for this verse, so if you have moments from the fic that you'd like to see expanded on or from a different perspective, please let me know!


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